


Teasing and Tactics

by Glowpear



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: A bit of occasional angst, Also I'm not a native speaker, Bylaude, Claudeleth, Do we have a ship name yet???, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, I'm sorry!, Jealousy, Pining, Secret Crush, Teasing, maybe smut later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-10 12:10:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20135236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowpear/pseuds/Glowpear
Summary: Claude has always been a great tactician and schemer. Always one step ahead and prepared for any possible ambush. What he wasn't prepared for, was falling in love with his professor, though. So before he even knew it himself, he was bound to that mysterious woman's spell.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm currently hooked on fire emblem and although I'm actually pretty busy I wanted to give it a try and I must say, I really love it! Still, I'm a bit sad that there aren't more romantic Claude/Byleth interactions and even though I'm only half way through the game I already know the paired ending. So here you go with some additional Claude/Byleth content. Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Also I'm not a native speaker and I do not have a beta so please bear with me!

The first time he saw her she didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. Just another mercenary lending their help, plain, but strong nonetheless. He didn’t even really notice her at first, expecting her father to take the lead and lay out a tactic to overpower the enemy.

That’s why he had been so surprised when he saw her in action on the battlefield, fighting, planing and manoeuvering her way through the enemies. He was quite impressed, he had to admit. She was amazing, really. An absolute force to be reckoned with, someone who could be of great value for him and his house.

Before he had been able to recruit her, however, his fellow house leaders had taken it upon themselves to beat him to it. Claude had actually wanted to slowly charm her into joining, talking to her on the way to the monastery, maybe even showing her around a little once they arrived.

But as it was he didn’t have much choice than to ask her right away as well, before any of the others was able to snatch her up right in front of his nose.

She had seemed a bit surprised about the great interest that everybody had taken in her and, for a moment, Claude was sure that she would simply decline all of their offers, overrun by the sheer amount of admiration coming from all sides.

Still, in the end she had mustered them, carefully and one by one, before her eyes had landed on him. He was elated that she had chosen to join his house and even more so later on when she chose to become his professor.

If Claude was perfectly honest, he had been quite smitten with her right from the beginning. He was curious about her strange nature and calm demeanour, always intrigued to find out more about her or provoke some kind of reaction. She was always so calm and collected, showing no emotion and keeping a straight face through anything that was thrown her way, so Claude had made it his goal to break through that icy facade.

He tried to throw her off the best he could, teasing her, taunting her and even flirting with her every now and then. Anything to lure her out of her shell. It became so obvious that he was trying to provoke a reaction that Hilda had even asked him once if he had a crush on their professor.

Of course he hadn’t.

Sure, he was quite intrigued with her, but his admiration and curiosity had nothing to do with feelings of such sort. He really wasn’t that easy to see through.

No, he was only so curious about her because she was the first person he couldn’t deceiver right away. There was something mysterious about her that made her so interesting and that irked him to no ends. Endless questions about her being had accumulated over the months, only fuelling his interest. Even more so, when it turned out that she was able to fully take advantage of the sword of the creator. It had been a revelation of some sorts, really, but if Claude would look back at it now he couldn’t image any other person than his strange teacher to wield that particular sword.

She was an enigma after all.

After that, he even doubled his efforts to come close to her. He needed her and he needed that sword. As he wouldn't be able to properly use it without the right crest, he would have to use her to do it for him and to fight in his name. It was selfish, really, but some things just were more important than worrying about befriending someone out of ulterior motives. He did feel a bit bad about it, but at least he wasn’t hurting her in any way.

Over several month he tried to win her over then, to secure her support and to secure her sword for dire times. He did begin to like her though, and if he was perfectly honest, he had slowly started to put his trust in her as well.

She wasn’t only a strong fighter, but also a capable professor and a reliable friend, he realized. Beyond that, he noticed even more things about her as time went by. For example how her face lit up when one of her students had finally solved a problem they had been hung up about, or the way she silently took care of others in the most subtle and loving ways.

Yes, Claude was very observant and before he had realized it he began to notice things he hadn’t bargained for.

He first realized his shift of interested as he was sitting in the dining hall with Ignatz, Hilda, Raphael and the others. Marianne had excused herself but Ashe and Sylvain had joined them in her stead, the latter even being a fresh addition to their house. They had been talking about the goddess, about their beliefs and doubts and about how they imagined her to be. Sometime throughout their conversation the topic had shifted to a more crude nature, as they were pondering about the goddess’ appearance.

“She has to be a divine beauty.” Ignatz had claimed, blushing lightly at the thought.

“Well, duh, of course she is.” Hilda countered. “She’s a goddess after all, what else would you expect?”

“What is if she’s an old hag, though?” Claude intervened, snickering at Ignatz’s shocked expression.

“Nah, I don’t think so.” Sylvain commented. “A being that powerful and divine? She has to be a looker!”

“Wow, that reasoning...” Lysithea had muttered unimpressed.

“Well, anyway.” Claude continued. “Who do you think is hotter? Our dear teach or the divine goddess?” He taunted, looking at the others expectantly.

“Oh gods, I’m out.” Lysithea mumbled as she was about to get up to make her way out of that conversation.

“Is that the only thing that is important to you?” Leonie huffed in disbelief, but remained at the table, nonetheless.

With that, Claude had managed to steer a whole new kind of commotion, but after some huffs and cries of disbelief about his indecency, his fellow deers had fully launched into a discussion about the earthly beauty of their professor compared to the divine beauty of a goddess, just as he had anticipated.

He had hoped that the others would pick up the topic in one of their sessions again, in anticipation of seeing his favourite teach getting flustered.

What he hadn’t anticipated though, was the force of admiration and even infatuation with which the others were speaking about their professor. Sure, they all liked and admired her, but he had thought that he had been the only one to recognize her unique beauty. That’s why he was so startled when Ignatz suddenly confessed that their teacher was quite a beautiful woman with her subtle, yet captivating charm, and even more so when the others had joined in on Ignatz’s observation about the woman’s beauty.

“She has quite the beautiful face,” Sylvain mentioned, “and a wonderful body on top of that. Have you seen how defined her legs are and how soft and pale the skin at the slope of her neck looks? Heavenly.”

Claude had been a bit taken aback by that. Of course, he had noticed too, but he didn’t think that anyone else had. She was their teacher after all. And yet, although it was kind of improper, he had noticed these things about her as well. But who could blame him? She couldn’t be much older than a few years anyway, even if she didn’t know her age herself. Still, the realization that he wasn’t the only one who had noticed these things left a sour taste at the back of his mouth. Why was that?

He didn’t have much time to wonder as the others were joining in on the discussion as well.

“Ew that’s disgusting Sylvain, she’s our professor after all! Have some decency!” Hilda scolded, while Leonie made some retching noises in the background at the indecent comment as well. Then, after a beat, she added “Though I have to admit that her neck does look nice! Her skin is so pale and clear! I bet with a face like that and skin as soft and pale as cherry blossom petals she could wrap any man around her finger if she just tried to.”

“Definitely!” Sylvain and Ignatz agreed in union, though the latter blushed immensely upon realizing what he had just agreed to.

Claude was at a loss of words. If his whole house had already discovered what he had, it wouldn't take long for the rest of the school to realize as well.

“I think she is a very kind hearted person. Beautiful inside and outside.” Ashe added, as if on cue, with a tinge of red dusting his cheeks.

Unbelievable.

“And the leader always speaks very highly of her as well.” He added after a beat.

“Well I think she’s very friendly, always up for a good talk and sharing her food supplies with me! And a beauty she is for sure! Strong and fierce, although she is so tiny!” Raphael added, a laugh rumbling through his chest.

“Are you talking about our dear professor?” Lorenz chimed in as he joined the table.

Great. One more skirt chaser to listen to.

“She is a beauty out of this world. Elegant and precise in her every move and so, so mysterious!” He remarked in awe, as he sat down to eat his food.

Claude felt the heat coil at the pit of his stomach. What was this feeling? He couldn’t possibly be jealous of his fellow comrades, could he? Much less because of his teacher. And yet… As he lifted his gaze to look at Lorenz, talking about their professor with utter adoration and admiration he couldn’t help but describe the burning feeling deep inside of him as jealously.

Lost in thought and stunned by the revelation, he hadn’t even realized that Hilda had directioned a question towards him.

“Huh?” He asked unintelligibly, looking up at her in confusion.

“I said, what do you think, Claude?”

“About what?” He asked, feigning disinterest. Hilda rolled her eyes.

“About the professor, of course.”

Oh.

Of course.

Well, what _did_ he think? He wasn’t quite sure himself. He had always thought that he admired her and that he was curious about her background and all the mysteries that were hanging like thick fog around her persona. Never had he considered that his interest was going beyond that and yet, he was sitting there blushing at the realization of his now painfully evident crush.

“I uh,” he stumbled, “I thinks she’s...” Claude hesitated, collecting his thoughts again. He really needed to get a grip. “She is a strong fighter, and a capable one at that too. And beautiful, beautiful she is as well.” He finally concluded and mentally slapped himself for becoming a stuttering and blushing mess because of his professor. Where was his sliver tongue when he needed it?

“Boring.” Hilda just said, averting her attention to something else again, prodding and teasing Ignatz again that he was probably going to get minus points if the prof would ever find out about his puppy love, while he was furiously denying his alleged crush, blushing all shades of red.

Claude could get behind that sentiment.

He was still stunned by the revelation of his own crush. Especially because he didn’t even see it coming.

When had his admiration shifted to something more? When had his need to acquire her alliance for his kingdom shifted to the need for her icy blue eyes to look at him with undivided intention? And when had his heart started to pick up its speed whenever she was throwing that lovely little smile at him?

He didn’t know, he couldn’t pinpoint the moment nor the action that made him fall for her. All he knew was that he was further in than he had initially anticipated.

Still, the future of his homeland was his first and foremost priority. He could deal with a small, inconvenient crush like that, especially if it wasn’t going anywhere. She was his teacher after all. His infatuation would eventually fade out sooner or later anyway, he was sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, I'm already back with my second chapter, hope you enjoy!
> 
> This takes place around the time of the winter ball (wow so creative, I know). It's nothing really new and pretty close to the story, but it will be the only chapter so closely related to the in-game convos.
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3

Months passed by and his infatuation did not die down. If anything it only became stronger by the day. He noticed that on more than one occasion, such as their private lessons, for example, or at the little tea parties she occasionally invited him to. She had slowly warmed up to him over time too, speaking honestly with him and sometimes even showing him her true emotions. He took great pride in that, especially after she had once told him in private that she trusted him most out of all people at the monastery.

Overall, she had grown noticeably more at ease with him and had even taken on gently teasing him back, whenever she fell victim to one of his antics, eyes glinting and a small, half-sided smile gracing her lips.

It did terrible things to his heart.

Winter had come around slowly and with that a lot of festive activities, such as the White Heron Cup and the Academy Ball.

Although he did like parties, Claude wasn’t really one for big, fancy balls, with rich nobles dancing around in pompous dresses. Unfortunately, it was his responsibility as a house leader and eventual heir to his dukedom to take part in such festive activities, so he was making it his goal to at least enjoy it the best he could. For him, that of course included one short dance with his lovely professor. Under the pretence of festive business he would allow himself at least that. He hoped this little dance would quench the longing in his heart, at least for a little bit.

Edelgard and Dimitri had opened up the dance already, dancing with their assigned dance partners first, twirling through the greatly illuminated hall. Claude was watching the spectacle with amusement. Even at a friendly event like that Edelgard and Dimitri where fighting for the top position, trying to out do each other with every move and every step they took.

His eyes drifted towards the other side of the room where Byleth was standing. He had taken on calling her that in private, when it was just the two of them. It felt more intimate like that, though he still very much liked to call her teach in public, as it almost felt like a term of endearment to him by now. It made him feel special because no one else was addressing her either way, in, and out of public as well.

As he was watching her from afar, her focus had suddenly shifted, making them lock eyes from across the room. She smiled at him, as soon as she laid her eyes on him and he seized his chance to ask her for a dance, extending his hand in a motion for her to join him.

To his surprise, she excepted right away, gabbing his big calloused hand with her small, warm one.

It felt like heaven, and for a moment Claude could only feel him and her as the only two people in room, his heartbeat ringing loudly in his ears. She was so close. _Almost close enough to kiss_, he thought, as his eyes drifted down to her lips for a short moment.

This was dangerous territory.

Gulping down the strong need to taste her rosy lips, he averted his eyes and pulled her closer to keep himself from kissing her. He didn’t think he would be able to resist if he looked at her for even one moment longer.

Byleth seemed a bit surprised for a second, startled by the sudden closeness, but she complied nonetheless.

_Always so indulging_… He thought, smiling and pressing her even closer to his body. With her he always felt like he could get away with anything, like there was absolutely no responsibility to tend to. Just the two of them.

“I’m glad that we have met.” He finally whispered into her hair, the soft strands tickling his check.

He wouldn't be able to kiss her, not now, maybe never if she didn’t feel the same, but he had needed to vent out some of his emotions. Overrun by his own feelings, he simply couldn’t hold back anymore, so he continued, letting his thoughts flow.

“Honestly, I’m really glad that you are here, by my side. I don’t think I can imagine a future without you anymore.” He whispered, hot breath hitting her ear.

“You really mean a lot to me.”

Byleth gasped, but otherwise didn’t respond to his bold confession. He had deliberately left his words as vague as possible. Imagining a future with her didn’t necessarily have to mean anything romantic, after all he was heavily relaying on her to support his homeland and realize his dreams.

Yet, if the way his heart was beating and his cheeks were blushing was any indication, it was clear what he had meant. Thankfully, his face was carefully hidden inside to column of her neck, so he hoped that she wouldn't notice.

At the lack of response, he was sure that she didn’t reciprocate, until she quietly, almost inaudibly, whispered, “Me too”, softly squeezing him in their tight embrace.

He wasn’t exactly sure as to what she was responding, whether it was the part where he had told her how important she had become to him or whether is was when he told her that he couldn’t imagine a future without her. Whatever it was, he was happy either way.

Lost in bliss, he hadn’t even realized, how close they were, dancing in a tight embrace, until the song had ended and everybody around them was either leaving the dance floor or changing partners.

Still, all things aside he suddenly remembered where they were and _who_ they were, slowly pulling out of their far too intimate position, giving her on last lingering smile.

He has had his moment with her. That should last him for a while.

“I suppose the dance is over.” He said ruefully, giving her a small smile. “Guess I have to let the other people dance with you as well.” He chuckled, as he spared a glance at the mob of boys and girls, waiting to have a dance with his teacher.

She just nodded at that, reciprocating his smile, before they began to separated ways. They both turned around to look at each other once more, before Byleth was finally taken away by a new dance partner. His heart was falling a bit at the sight and thought of letting her go, but he couldn’t possibly monopolize all of her time. She was their teacher, after all, and once again he was painfully aware of the distance that fact forcefully created between them. Would it have been any different if she wasn’t his teacher and instead just another student at Garreg Mach?

He would never know for sure, so pondering about it wouldn't do him any good either way.

With a heavy heart he made his way towards the side lines, stopping by at the buffet to cheer up his mood a bit, getting some of the pastries before he sat down at his house table.

It was going to be fine, he told himself. He would be having fun anyway.

Still, the longer he had to watch his teacher with yet another eager, blushing student, the worse his mood got until he eventually even lost his appetite, leaving his pastries unfinished on the golden plate. Usually he wasn't one for jealousy, it was rather new to him, though a lot of sensations were when in came to his favourite teach.

It dawned on him that he really needed to get out of there and get some fresh air before he did something stupid.

Grabbing his coat and the rest of his belongings, he headed towards the gardens. He would go for a nice stroll to clear his head and maybe watch some stars if he was able to see them on a cloudy night like this.

As soon as he entered the gardens, the cold winter’s air instantly made him feel refreshed. Inhaling deeply and looking up at the night sky, he did see some lonely stars sprinkled across the dark firmament hanging above him. It was a tranquil and beautiful scenery, calming in every way.

He just wished that he could share it with her.

Exhaling deeply at the thought, he slowly made his way to saunter through the gardens. He really had it bad for her by now. Day by day it was getting harder for him to keep his composure around her. What had started out as an innocent, silly crush had began to bloom into full blossoms of love, he couldn’t deny that anymore, at least not to himself.

Despite every obstacle, given their birth and their positions, he earnestly hoped for a way they could be together someday and that she was feeling the same way he did. Sometimes, he thought that he had figured her all out, anticipating her next moves, only to be surprised by a totally unexpected reaction, be it on the battlefield or in private. It was frustrating to no ends, keeping him on his toes most of the time, but it was intriguing nonetheless and truthfully he couldn’t get enough of it. Not now and possibly never, but he would have to be content with what he got right now. It wouldn't be proper for any of them to flaunt this kind of relationship under these circumstances and now wasn’t the time anyway.

Claude sighed again.

There was no use to it. He would just have to let it go, at least for now.

Lost in thought, he hadn’t even realized, that his little stroll had led him back to the church grounds. Letting the cold wind hit his face, he casually leaned against the cool church wall, closing his eyes and inhaling the fresh air.

It was a peaceful moment, only interrupted by the sudden sound of footsteps.

Sighing again he pushed himself away from the wall to see who it was that was disturbing his haven of tranquillity, and when he opened his eyes again he really shouldn't have been surprised.

Of course. It was her.

Out of all people that could have crossed his path that night, it just _had_ to be her. Faced with those surprised, piercing blue eyes he just couldn’t help but chuckle at this whim of destiny. Fate was really only playing with him by now.

Still, he wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity, so he casually asked her if she made her escape from the ballroom.

She nodded sheepishly, averting her eyes and giving him a small sympathetic smile when he told her that he could get behind that sentiment. After that, it was quiet between them, both enjoying the calmness of the night, standing beside each other, until she suddenly broke the silence.

“I didn’t expect to run into you at a place like this.” She admitted, looking up at him from the side.

“No?” He asked, slightly amused. He certainly hadn’t expected to meet her here either, that’s why he had ended up here to begin with.

“No, but I’m sure glad that it’s you and not somebody else.” She responded honestly, and it took every ounce of self-restraint he had left in his body to not whip his head to the side and look at her, as his heart was picking up its beat.

Why was she doing that to him? She really wasn’t going to let him off the hook easily, even if she didn’t do it on purpose.

Trying to steady his breath, he calmly breathed in and out before he answered her.

“Well, I’m glad that it’s you as well.” He finally said, looking at her from the side and giving her a small smile that she returned in kind.

To ease his nervousness, he crossed his arms behind his back, stealing himself for what he was about to say. It was just the two of them right now. No one would see and no one would ever know, so he needed to use that opportunity to bask in the warmth of her presence once more.

He would allow himself to be selfish once again that night.

“You know…" He began. "There is a legend going around about a man and a woman, making a wish together, here at this place.”

“Yeah?” She asked, titling her head in that cute way she always did when her interest was peaked.

He knew he was walking on thin ice with that story, as the actual legend specified these two people specifically as _lovers_, but he hoped that his sheltered teach was too unfamiliar with the traditional legends of this land.

“Yeah.” He just answered nonchalantly, trying to remain calm as his heart was loudly banging in his chest.

“It is said that, if a man and woman come here to pray together at the night of the ball, whatever they pray for will be granted by to goddess.” He continued.

“And you are not making this up right now?” She laughed as she mustered him warily.

He gasped in feigned shock at her accusation, dramatically putting one of his hands on his chest as he looked at her with mocked disbelief.

“As if I would ever lie about something like this to you, my dear professor!”

Byleth chuckled at his overly dramatic reaction and Claude himself was glad that he had somehow managed to solve a bit of his own inner tension with his antics.

“Well, guess I’ll find out sooner or later if you are telling the truth.” She finally concluded, shrugging her shoulders. “It won’t hurt to try anyway, right?” Byleth continued, looking at him with a glint in her eyes.

“That’s the spirit!” He answered cheerfully, though he was having trouble breathing steadily at the sight of her moon lit face.

He wasn’t really one for ominous tales or religious nonsense, but he really hoped that the goddess would grant his wish, given that she really existed. After all, there was nothing in this world that he desired more than leading the world to a new age of unity with her by his side.

So with all his might, and a little playfulness of course, he called into the night sky for the goddess to grant their wishes, making his teach roll her eyes at him and chuckle in the process.

He did need this silliness as a cover to not seem to genuine though, otherwise he was afraid that she might have looked right through him and he wasn’t ready to reveal himself like that yet. After all, it had already been a stretch that he had admitted to imagining his future with her by his side and there was only so much he could say before he would make a total fool out of himself.

So with an overly exaggerated smile and big, toothy grin he looked towards her, crossing his arms behind his head again.

“So… If that didn’t convince her to grant our wishes, I’m really at a loss of what to do.” He snickered.

“Sure.” Byleth just replied, grinning at him. “You were _very_ convincing.” She continued to tease.

“See? Surely, nothing can go wrong with that much enthusiasm.” He laughed.

“Certainly, especially if it was _so_ genuine.” She jeered, although there was no bite to it.

“Hey, I’m sure the goddess will recognize an honest intend if she hears one, so I’m sure we are good to go.” He said, daring to wink at her in the process, before his nerves were getting the better of him.

“I guess.” She just said, rather unconvinced about how honest the schemer’s intension could be, but she gave him a soft smile nonetheless.

Before he could melt away in that smile he cleared his throat, averting his gaze towards the ballroom.

“I guess we should head back soon. I bet everybody is already looking for the star of the evening, and by that I mean you, teach.” He said, snickering at her exasperated face.

“Don’t remind me please, I was just trying to escape this madness.” She whined, making him even more amused.

“I swear, if I have one more clumsy student stepping on one of my feet once more I’m losing it.”

Claude chuckled. “I am sure you will.” He said, pausing a moment to choose his words carefully before he continued.

“Nevertheless, try to save one more dance for me, so at least you’ll have one more decent dance-partner to end the night with.”

Somehow, the thought of him being her first and last dance of the evening made him feel all giddy inside. It almost made him feel like he was something special, different from her other students, as if he was closer to her than anybody else.

“I surely will.” She said, smiling at him once more before she made her way back towards the ball room.

“See you later, Claude.” She finally said, turning around once more to give him one last small wave.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long.” She added after a beat, so quiet that he almost didn’t catch it.

He would never let her wait too long ever, though. What he didn’t anticipate then however, was how long she would inevitably make him wait for. There were just things in life nothing and no one could prepare you for.

Especially in love and war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for your lovely comments so far! I appreciate every hit, kudos, bookmark and comment very much!
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so chapter 3 is up now as well. I actually didn't want to draw out the reunion scene for too long but guess I overdid it a bit. But oh well, that just means there will be even more content so I suppose that's fine, given that there isn't much Byleth/Claude content to begin with, yet :D 
> 
> Also I changed the reunion a bit. I really think Claude and Byleth should have hugged after 5 years of seperation, regardless if they were lovers or just friends. But I guess that is what fanfictions are for anyway, so hope you enjoy it!

If Claude had known that the evening of the ball would be their last happy day together, he would have drawn out their moment on the balcony for just a little longer. Unfortunately he didn’t, and before he knew it, everything was going down to shit.

It had started with the death of Jeralt, her father, the betrayal of Edelgard, the vanishing of Rhea, and finally the vanishing of Byleth herself.

He deliberately called her mysterious disappearance like that because he was too afraid to address it as anything other than that. He was sure she was still alive anyway.

She just had to be.

Still, as the years were passing by and the war had only gotten worse, he slowly began to lose some of his confidence, and before he even realized it, five years had already gone by without any sign of life from her.

He couldn’t help but think that, if she was still alive, she surely would have contacted one of them by now. Even if their time together at Garreg Mach had been short, he was sure that they had grown close enough that she wouldn't just leave them hanging like that. So there either must have benn a hefty reason, such as imprisonment or memory loss, or she must have…

No.

He was not even going to consider that. Not now, not ever.

He would always hope and wait, and maybe even pray for her safety, if it meant the she would return to him healthy and unharmed one day. Claude would not give his hope up yet, at least until he had bulletproof evidence that she in fact wasn’t alive anymore.

He just hoped that it wouldn't be in vain.

Again, it was winter at Garreg Mach and Claude found himself standing in front of the ruins of the monastery.

It was pretty run down by now, being the place where the war had begun, abandoned, and plundered by thieves over the years. A sad sight to look at, really, especially because it had held so many dear memories to him. Memories of a better time, memories of his friends, memories of _her_.

As he was standing there, these memories felt like they had happened an eternity ago, making him aware of how long it has been since he last saw his precious professor. Although it had been years by now that still hadn’t done anything to lessen his affection.

Sighing deeply at the nature of his situation he looked upon the monastery, watching it glow in the golden light of the morning sun.

This was his last resort.

The last glimmer of hope.

If she wasn’t going to show up today he was certain the she really was dead. He didn’t think that she would be indifferent enough to forget about the promise they had made, guided by young nativity. They were kids back then, stupid and still wet behind their ears and yet… yet this promise held great importance to him. He couldn't just let it go and he hoped that she couldn't either.

Still, as he was standing there alone in the cold morning light, he wasn’t so sure if any of them would even show up. A lot had changed over the last years and although none of his friends had turned to enemies, there were some of them he hadn’t seen either for many, many years.

They didn’t have much choice to begin with, most of them returning to their homelands to protect whatever and whoever they could. That was just how things were. There just were more important things to deal with than staying in contact with old friends, even if Claude did cultivate his alliances. He just had to, after all he was a duke by now.

Yet, he hoped that their promise was important enough for them to show up, even if it was just half of them, or one of them, as long as it gave him a sense of importance, so that he could see that someone besides him remembered and treasured their time together.

Lost in thought, he didn’t even realize that someone had been getting closer, lurking in the shadows and watching him from afar. How lousy his senses had gotten. He really needed to spend more time on the battlefield again.

Friend or foe, the person didn’t attack him yet, so he slowly grabbed his sword to ready himself for any eventuality, finally turning his head to see who it was. When he laid eyes on the silhouette, hidden by the arch of the monastery, he almost couldn't breath though.

There she was.

Standing there alive and well, looking at him with wary suspicion in her eyes.

Five years had done nothing to her. She didn’t even look a day older than she had the last time he had seen her at the monastery, whereas he couldn't say the same about himself. He did have to admit though that age had done him good as well. Maybe that was why she didn’t recognize him right away, eyes widening when she finally realized who was standing in front of her.

As the recognition dawned on her, he gave her a warm smile, heart loudly beating in his chest. Otherwise he was a bit unsure about what to do.

They hadn’t seen each other in almost five years. Would things be different between them? Five years ago, when she had lost her father on the battlefield, weeping in agony for all she was worth, he had hugged her fiercely and without hesitation, trying to convey his condolence with soft words and caresses and the warmth of his body.

Now, however, he wasn’t so sure about what to do.

Should he hug her? Should he give her a handshake? Or should he kiss her, now that she was standing right in front of him?

He, of course, did want to kiss her for sure, but he didn’t know if she would want to kiss him as well. Especially if he was already contemplating whether it was alright for him to even hug her.

Were they close enough for bold affections of love as such? What kind of relationship did they even have to begin with? Sure, Claude considered her as a friend, a close confidant, and maybe even a lover, but he was not sure if she reciprocated. Too many years had passed, and while he had always been sure that she did harbour some sort of affection for him as well, they had never kissed or confessed their love for each other.

The longer he pondered, the more time passed by, so he just settled for the term _teach_, like he always had, teasing her about keeping him waiting for so long. It was his personal form of endearment and affection for her after all.

Upon looking at him, dressed in fancy clothes, looking more mature than she remembered, still making stupid jokes, teasing and taunting, she suddenly ran, flinging herself at him and embracing him in a fierce embrace.

He was a bit startled by that, tumbling back by the sheer force of her eagerness, blood thrumming in his ears.

“Well hello to you to-” He wanted to tease to ease his heart, but before he could finish she had interrupted him, pressing to him even closer.

“I thought you were dead.” She whispered into his hair, voice wobbly with emotions. He was struck by the force of her raw feelings overwhelmed by how broken she sounded. What had happened in the time she had been gone?

“Why would y-” He tried again, only to be interrupted by her again.

“You and the others… I couldn't find you when I woke up.” She explained, slowly losing her grip to look at his face. “Everything was a mess, everyone was gone and when that person that had found me told me that the monastery had fallen, I was so afraid that I had lost you.” She whispered, looking up at him with glassy eyes.

He was overwhelmed by the intensity of affection he saw, as he looked right into those eyes.

“I, no...” He began, and stopped to swallow down his own emotions that where threatening to spill out. He wanted to tell her that he had been perfectly fine and that she was the one that he had been worried about. But all these things could wait. He needed to reassure her that he was here now first, and he needed to reassure himself that she was there as well and that this wasn’t just a dream.

Swallowing again, he pressed her closer once more, enveloping her in a tight embrace.

“I’m here now.” He whispered, finger gently carding through her hair. “I’m here now and I won’t leave, I promise.”

Bathing in his warmth, she reciprocated his embrace, inhaling his scent deeply as if to anchor herself in the moment, which made him only hug her even tighter.

She was safe. Safe and alive.

He was so happy.

*****

Byleth was really glad that Claude was safe and sound as well, even though there were a lot of things she didn’t understand yet. If what that villager had said to her was true, almost five years must have passed since the fall of the monastery, which didn’t seem to far off now that she was taking in Claude’s wide shoulders and the beard adorning his face. He even grew a few more inches, making him towering over her more than he had used to.

It was all very strange to her. The fall of the monastery, the beginnings of the war, and even the death of her father, still felt fairly recent to her and yet, five years had passed.

She wondered what had changed in the time she was gone, if her friends were alright and if they still had a chance to overpower Edelgard. She sure wished they did. Hopefully she hadn’t waisted too much time.

Among all the things that had changed during her absence she sure was glad that one thing hadn’t. Claude was still there, standing right next to her with this mischievous glint in his eyes and that sly grin adorning his face, always one to tease just as he had always been.

Although he did seem to have grown a lot over the past years, mentally and physically, and she was curious to know about what he and the others had been up to.

Before she could ask however, a shrill squeak pulled them apart, making them both draw their weapons in anticipation.

“My, my no need to get aggressive right away, just because I disturbed your little moment of privacy.” A woman with long pink hair and a huge axe jeered as she was watching them with amusement from the top of the stairs.

It was Hilda, both of them realized after staring a moment, still in shock about the sudden interruption and entrance of their friend.

“Care to welcome an old friend or have both of you lost their manners over the years?” The pink-haired woman taunted as she looked at them with raised eyebrows, teasing smile adorning her lips.

Claude managed to find his words first and, true to his silver-tongue, teased back right away.

“I would, if said old friend hadn’t sneaked up on us like that. Might have lost your manners as well, dear friend?” He asked, grinning back at her as he lowered his weapons in a welcoming gesture, opening his arms.

“Hmm I don’t think so, my dear Duke of Leicester. I just didn’t want to interrupt your little moment with the professor right away when you two just looked _so cosy_.” She teased, making him blush up to his ears.

It was amazing, really, how she could address him in such a polite manner while simultaneously teasing him mercilessly without any ounce of respect left in her body.

Although Byleth was flustered for a moment, the term _duke_ threw her off more than anything, wondering what else had changed while she was gone for so long.

Claude had just huffed, ready to defend himself and his actions, when they heard another voice coming from the stairs, drawing the cheeky woman’s attention away.

“Hilda? Who are you talking to? Are the others there yet?”

It took a moment for both of them to connect a face to that voice, but when that silver mob of hair slowly ascended and revealed itself on top of the stairs, it became clear who Hilda’s mysterious companion was.

Lysithea.

“Hey, Hilda. Are you not going to answ…” She was about to ask, when she suddenly stopped.

“Professor!?” She exclaimed instead, locking eyes with the long lost woman standing across of her.

“Professor where have y-”

“Oh come Lysithea, you are too slow! If you had been here a few minutes earlier you would have seen Claude get all lovey-dovey with the professor.” She laughed, as Claude was protesting in the background.

Byleth might have been flustered by that comment was well if she hadn’t been so relieved to see some of her closest allies, no, some of her closest friends, save and sound.

Overwhelmed by emotions once more, her eyes grew glassy again as she watched the usual banter unfold in front of her. She was just so glad that they had made it out alive, the loss of her father still freshly burning deep inside her guts, even though years had passed since then now.

Upon realizing how quiet she had grown, the banter had suddenly died down, as everyone present was worried for their favourite professor.

“Professor are you alright?” Lysithea asked, taking a few steps towards her, eyes filled with worry.

Wiping her eyes, Byleth nodded, smiling at the others with such warmth and radiance that she was almost sound competition to the morning sun.

“I’m just so glad that all of you are alright.” She admitted, strong emotions lacing her voice. “Please tell me the others are alright as well.” She added after a moment, voice not much louder than a soft whisper.

Stunned by the strong force of feelings their otherwise so closed off professor was showing, none of them really knew how to react for a moment, until Hilda seized the opportunity again.

“Oh professor, of course they are. After all you trained as well, right?” She said playfully, trying to dissolve the tension by winking at the other woman.

Claude and Lysithea both needed another moment before Lysithea joined in, a smiling taking over her face.

“Of course, we are the Golden Deers after all. We are not _that_ easy to get rid of.” She professed, smiling proudly at her professor.

Byleth looked at them for a moment before a warm smile began to spread over her face as well, her expression turning strangely peaceful and longing.

“I’m glad then.” She said, smiling at them with all her might.

Later that day, the rest of them joined as well. One by one, keeping the promise they made years ago. They reclaimed the monastery that day, fighting off the last bandits and thieves hanging around, and sat by the fire together as the sun slowly kissed the earth again, trading stories and sharing laughs.

It really was the dawn of a new area and Byleth was happy that she was going to face it with the help of her friends.

Together they would be able to conquer the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess next chapter will have a little Judith/Claude interaction because I just love how she still treats this grown-ass man like some snotty-nosed brat :D
> 
> I managed to update every day for the last few chapters, but I think I will maybe post this on Saturday or Sunday as I do actually have a lot to do :( So I hope the wait will be worth!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my "little interaction" was again a little longer than I initially anticipated. Hope you enjoy in anyway!

Things were progressing slowly but steadily after they had retaken the monastery. The people gradually came flooding back to the villages around and the reconstruction of the building was progressing as well.

Frankly, there was a lot of work to be done and all of them were pretty busy with taking there part in the rebuilding of their former home, so there wasn’t much time for Claude and the others to chat with the professor.

Although all of them had agreed to at least try to have dinner together as often as they could, to swap new ideas on helping the reconstruction process or to just talk about their day in general, Claude didn’t get to see Byleth that often.

As her and him were the driving force behind the recapture of the monastery, they especially had little time to spare for a nice chat or a small afternoon tea-party. It wouldn't be really proper for the leaders of their little group to stand back and relax, while the others were working and besides that, Byleth was gone most of the week anyway, always recruiting new people, clearing streets of bandits, or escorting merchants with new food supplies.

Still, seeing her once or twice a week was already an improvement from not seeing her at all over the past five years, so he was glad to just indulge in the knowledge that she was here, within reach, even if he didn’t see her every day.

Things got a little livelier at the monastery once Judith and her men resided there as well. He didn’t really feel all too well with being indebted to her as deeply as he already was, but he was happy that she was there nonetheless. That is, if he didn’t take all the teasing into account.

Besides calling _him_, the duke of Leicester, _a boy_ without any sense of shame, and still treating him like a snotty-nosed brat most of the time, she had also been quite observant when it came to his feelings for his professor.

Although the teach wasn’t even their professor anymore and instead _just Byleth_, as she had stated several times herself by now, it had been hard for them to adjust to calling her by her name. Even Claude himself reverted to his old school-boy self, calling her teach, whenever he lay eyes on her in public. It was true that he _did_ actually used to call her Byleth when they were alone in the past, but as they didn’t have any private moment since their reunion yet, and he wasn’t bold enough to address her by her name in public as well, he just resorted to _teach_, like he always had.

Maybe, part of his behaviour had something to do with the fear that someone might catch up on his true feelings once he properly would use her name in public. He didn’t think that he was that transparent, but it was saver to not risk it anyway.

But even though he did consider himself a master of composure and calm, unbreakable demeanour, someone did notice, nonetheless. The one person he couldn't fool, that knew him since he was that little, wild brat from the country-side.

Judith.

  
  
Although he did make a lot of acquaintances and even what he would call friends, no one at the monastery knew him like his family did, or Judith, for the matter. Even though Hilda had already picked and prodded him about the matter, she rather built her foundation on her thirst for hot gossip than actual observation, at least that was what he supposed.

She had no basis for her claim, other than pure assumption, whereas Judith just straight out stated that he liked his teacher. No question asks, no beating around the bush, just plain out stating the fact with uttermost certainty.

She had always been able to see right through his schemes and charades, always making him feel like that hot-tempered, small boy again. She just knew him too well.

  
It caught him off guard nonetheless, so much that his otherwise composed demeanour broke, eyes widened and lips slightly parting in shock.

  
“You are in love with her.”

  
  
No one had ever said it out loud and clear like this, not even himself, but Judith had hit the truth spot on.

  
  
“Jeez, kid, stop gaping like that. You think I wouldn't notice?” She asked, a short laugh leaving her lips. “You're not exactly subtle.”

  
  
For once he didn’t know how to reply to that. He was completely at a loss of words.

  
  
The situation that had transpired several minutes before this revelation, and the past few weeks that Judith had stayed with them at the monastery, were apparently enough for her to come to that conclusion.

Byleth had headed out several days prior to their conversation, going on a mission together with some merchants to get new supplies. Their mission was estimated to roughly take a week, but no one knew exactly when they were due to come back.

Claude himself was required to head back to his dukedom for a few days as well, to make some last preparations before their planned capture of the great bridge, and he had hoped that he would be able to see Byleth once more before his departure, though it didn't seem as if his wish would be fulfilled.

  
  
However, as soon as he was about to take his leave, sorting out the last arrangements, a certain mob of green hair had crossed his sights. Without any second thought he had abandoned his position next to Judith to run after his teach, calling out for her through the hallway.

  
  
They had talked a bit, alone at first, as Claude had filled her in about the recent developments, though it didn't take long for Judith to join them. Of course the woman just had to give him one jab after the other throughout their whole conversation, right in front of his teach. Yet, he hadn’t thought that she was quite so observant.

He had listened to his former professor intently, hanging onto her every word, after a week of separation. His face was glowing with happiness and the older woman was watching him and Byleth with great interest. Claude’s eyes always had this tinge of sadness, even since he was child, but when he was with this mysterious woman, his smile suddenly seemed a lot more genuine, even lighting up his eyes as well.

It was a small change from his usual expression, and one needed to be very observant to notice, as Claude had always been good at pretending and acting, but it was painfully obvious to Judith, nonetheless. After all she, had known the boy for quite some time now.

So as soon as they had separated ways with Byleth, Judith had exposed him without any hint of hesitation or uncertainty, and even though he was shocked at her directness, there was no point in denying it.

“Hah, so you did notice, huh?” He mumbled, scratching his head, pink dusting his cheeks and embarrassment creeping up on him.

“Guess there is no point in hiding it from you.” He sighed.

“No need to be shy, boy!” Judith assured, a laugh rumbling through her chest at the expanse of his embarrassment.

“I’m happy for you, though.” She added after a moment, more fond.

“Thanks, but it’s not that easy, unfortunately.” Claude groaned, hand dragging through his hair. “She doesn’t even know I like her and besides our, no _my_, position doesn’t allow for-”

“Oh, come on, stop stalling kid and go get her. Since when were you that serious?” She laughed once more, mustering him with amusement. Upon just receiving a sigh, she prodded once more.

“What’s stopping you? You’ve never been one to blindly follow the rules imposed on you by status or birth and yet you are hesitating. Why is that?” She asked, curiously. “Your affections seem genuine, are you not serious about her?”

“Well, I am serious about her, but its just not the time nor the place, and given my position I really need to watch out what to do as to not risk to lose any allies or gain a bad reputation.” He explained, sighing again.

It really wasn’t _that_ easy.

Judith mustered him for a moment, eyebrows raising as she pursed her lips. Her eyes flitted over his face, before she spoke again.

“Look kid, I know you don’t have it easy, you never had in fact, but if you still are the little master schemer that I came to know so well, I’m sure you’ll find a way. Surely, you’re smarter than letting yourself get caught and if the time comes, and you alliances are secured, you can reveal the true nature of your relationship.”

He was stunned by her advise, looking at her in mild surprise. It was rare for Judith to encourage him in potentially dangerous matters for himself and the alliance and even though engaging in a romantic relationship with Byleth was less reckless than many of the bold things he had done over his time as a duke, especially given his birth, he still hesitated. After all, their situation was pretty dire at the moment. They couldn't afford to lose even one ally and Claude was afraid that any wrong move could result in driving them away.

“That’s all nice and well Judith, but it’s completely in vain if she doesn’t feel the same way about me.” He muttered sombrely.

“You’re kidding, right?” She exclaimed as she looked at him incredulously. “She’s just as head over heels for you as you are for her, she’s only far better at hiding it.” Judith claimed, making Claude blush at the thought that his feelings might be reciprocated.

“I’m not so sure about that.” He grumbled, avoiding her eyes. “And anyway, I won’t risk anything now. There is just too much at stake right now and if any of the noble men of the alliance were ever about to find out about me getting involved with the leader of the resistance against the kingdom they would surely drop me in no time, thinking I would just fool around to get into her bed.

Judith grinned, astound by how much thought he had already put into this.

“Oh well, always thinking in the great schemes of things, are you?” She asked fondly, but with a hint of sadness lacing her voice. She watched him for another moment before she sighed loudly as well.

“Fine, do things your way then, but at least promise me you’ll talk to her. Tell her how you feel. Don’t be coward, boy.” She challenged. "And remember, life is short. Especially at times like these."

“I...” He hesitated. Would it be fair for him to tell her about his feelings without intending to act on them? He wasn’t sure. And yet he had the pressing feeling that he needed to get this off his chest. It had been years after all. This was no mere crush anymore.

“I’ll try.” He finally promised, blushing at the thought of confessing his feelings to his teach.

"Good." Judith laughed, smiling fondly at him again. "Just don't take too long."

He nooded, averting his red face, so she wouln't tease him too much about it, although she did notice anyway.

“Oh look at you big boy with your little school-boy teacher crush! Who could have known that little, rebellious Claude, would ever fall for a person of authority!” She teased, ruffling is hair fondly.

He just huffed at that, still refusing to look at her.

“Never thought the day would come that I’d say these words about you, but it really is cute and endearing.” She added, laughing even harder at the deepening redness in his face.

“Yah! Stop it old woman!” He shouted, making his retreat towards monastery gates.

Great, now she was teasing him again. It definitely was time to leave. Red behind his ears, he made his way to his wyvern, waiting right before the gates, not sparing her another glance.

“No need to get so senitive, boy!” She shouted after him, amused at the blush that was still gracing his ears, visible even from the expanding distance between them.

“Have a save trip!” She added after a moment. “And don’t let your thoughts stray too much!” She teased with a sly grin.

“Yah, yah.” He just responded, saddling his wyvern as his men were waiting for him to give the go to leave.

Once he was settled, he looked at her again, giving her a confident smile, true to his usual carefree self. “See you next week!” He shouted, waving at her once more before he headed off into the sky.

She watched him take off, his golden armour shining brightly in the evening sunlight, and smiled to herself.

“Oh boy… I suppose you really have grown up.” She mumbled fondly as she watched him fly away, astounded by his degree of self-control. He really would handle being a leader well, she mused, making her own retreat to her chambers as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and keeping up with my story! I think the tension in my next chapter is going to be a little thicker and I am thinking about making more steamier chapters as the story progresses, but we'll see. I do already have an idea but I'm not sure yet were to place it time-line wise. Guess you have to wait and see! :)
> 
> And thank you all so much for all the kudos and comments of course! <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh damn, this chapter got a lot longer than I actually expected... Hope your are ready for roughly 4000 words of fluff and a tiny bit of Claude's steamier thoughts!

A few weeks had gone by since his talk with Judith but he had yet to talk to Byleth about his feelings. It’s not that he wanted to put it off any further, there just hadn’t been the right moment, or any private moment at all really, to confess.

It was nagging at the back of his mind by now and whenever he crossed paths with Byleth the feeling was getting stronger. Judith was talking his ear off about it, as well. She was teasing and prodding whenever she got the chance to, watching him with a knowing look everytime he was talking to Byleth.

She somehow must have told Nader as well, he realized as he had taken Byleth with him to his homeland, after they successfully had conquered the great bridge. His retainer had welcomed them warmly and maybe a little too casually, considering that Claude was a duke now, straightforwardly asking who the beautiful woman by his side was.

Byleth had answered as politely as ever, making a lasting impression on him right away. He was quite smitten by her and he didn’t even pretend to hide his strong approval of her, making compliments here and there about what a capable leader she was, how well she was doing with the people of Leicester and how happy her future husband could be to have a woman like her by his side.

It wasn’t exactly subtle, but the old man meant well.

Claude had actually intended to confess here in his homeland, anyway. He wasn’t sure if Byleth had already caught up on his feelings, but she did give him some confused looks whenever Nader was a bit too obvious with his flattery.

So on the third day after their arrival, he had asked her for a late evening tea and a small dinner in his room. He had asked some of the servants to help him arrange a nice ambient as well, placing a table outside on his balcony so they would have a beautiful view on the sunset and the outskirts of his homeland. Aside from that, he tried to keep the decoration as casual as possible, so she wouldn't catch on right away, in case he was going to chicken out last minute.

But before she could even arrive, a messenger had come to him, informing him that there was an urgent matter he had to attend to. As it later turned out, that _urgent__ matter_ had been an argument between some of the leading nobles of the alliance, presumptionous air-heads that couldn’t hold a civil discussion even if their life depended on it.

Oh how he hated them.

But there was no use, the evening was ruined anyway. After his departure to dissolve the argument, he had send a messenger himself to inform Byleth that their little get-together had to fall flat and another one to Nader that he needed his help to negotiate between these idiots.

The old man had been livid as soon as he received the news, storming into the room of noble men and shouting at them to behave according to their rank for once and for all. He had silenced them instantly with his booming voice and furious expression, face twisted an anger.

Claude had never seen a room of grown men fall quiet so quickly.

Amazing, really. He could kind of understand why Judith had a thing for him, she was a sucker for strong and capable men after all. Although Nader had come to his aid as fast as he could, his evening with Byleth was still busted by those snobbish bastards, and with that another opportunity to finally confess.

Slumping his shoulders and making his retreat towards his chambers he sighed, annoyed at how the evening had turned out. Nader had tried to cheer him up, telling him that there still was time to woo dear lady Byleth. Unfortunately, they would have to head back to the monastery soon and he needed to fill out a whole lot of paperwork before he could even think about the prospect of some free-time with her.

It really was a lost cause, a least for now.

On their way back to the monastery, they were forced to split up as well. Claude had needed to attend another meeting in one of the bordering territories, while Byleth needed to head back to the monastery immediately, as Seteth had requested her presence there to tend to other important matters. She was the representative of the church, after all. So Nader’s other humble suggestion to ask Byleth to ride with him on his wyvern had failed as well.

It really was a pity.

First, it had taken Claude ages to realize his feelings, much less admit them to himself or even others, and then, when he was finally ready to confess, he just didn’t get the chance to. It was awfully depressing. They had already wasted five years being separated and even if they couldn't be together right away, or if Byleth didn’t reciprocate, he at least wanted to tell her.

He had also planed on talking to her as soon as he had arrived back at the monastery, but when he had finally knocked on her door to ask her out for a nice cup of tea, she was nowhere to be found.

He sighed.

Just his luck, huh?

Exhausted from the long journey and the last few days of stress and bickering noblemen, he craved for a little relaxation. He was just too tired to venture the corridors to look for Byleth, especially without any certainty of meeting her at all, so he decided to visit the bath house near the student accommodations instead.

Ironically, they were never allowed to go there as students, but now that there weren't any hierarchies at the monastery anymore, anyone could go there to have a nice, relaxing bath, so Claude was about to do just that.

He had hurried to get his stuff once he was in his room, deciding to get changed there, as he wasn’t expecting anyone to be there at this hour anyway. Yet, as he was just about to enter the bath house, he saw two other people heading for the door as well.

Upon taking a closer look, he realized that the two other people had been no other than Hilda and Byleth.

Truthfully, he was quite surprised when he laid his eyes on the two women.

“My my, if it isn’t the duke of Leicester.” Hilda greeted him, a sly grin already adorning her face. Out of all people it just had to be Hilda to accompany Byleth to the hot springs. As if he hadn’t had enough teasing over the past few weeks already.

“Didn’t think I would encounter anyone at a time like this.” He said, as he nodded at them.

Byleth and him locked eyes for a moment, both smiling upon seeing each other for the first time after being separated for the past few days. It was nice to be able to see her before he went to sleep, even if he wasn’t able to get her alone. Their short meeting would help him ease the stress of the past few days nonetheless. She always had this kind of soothing effect on him.

After taking one last glance at her, he looked at Hilda again, as he was trying painfully hard not to stare at Byleth, dressed in her short white towel.

It reminded him that he too had to change, so he took that as an opportunity to take his leave before he gave in to the temptation of gawking at Byleth.

“Well, I’ll better get changed.” He declared, waving his own towel lightly in his hand as if to emphasise his intention. “See you later then.” He muttered, nodding at them before he headed to the changing rooms.

He took his time to get changed to clear his head a little, washing his face with cold water once, before he headed to the springs as well. He really would have liked to swap places with Hilda right now, as the spring was segregated into one side for women and another one for men, but unfortunately that was not how things worked. The gods after wall weren’t that favourably inclined towards him.

Upon entering the hot spring, he could already hear laughter from the other side of the wall. Surely the laughter belonged to no other than Hilda and Byleth, as they were the only two people bathing here, apart from himself of course, after all.

Taking off his towel and getting comfortable in the hot water, he briefly wondered what it might was that they were laughing about.

Was it something that had happened during training that day, or something that transpired quite some time ago? Maybe they were reminiscing old times or maybe Hilda was sharing an anecdote about one of her many suitors.

Claude could only guess, imagining the way Byleth would laugh along with it, eyes crinkling in amusement, lips stretching into a bright smile and chest heaving with laughter, as water droplets were running down her neck to the valley of her breast.

Oh.

_Where the hell was that coming from?_ He briefly wondered, surprised at the sudden change of thoughts.

He wasn’t supposed to think about her like that, and he usually didn’t, or at least he hadn’t since he was a horny teenager, but even then he was too cautious to let his thoughts stray too much into that direction. Sure, he had always noticed how attractive she was, but she had been off limits when he had been a student at Garreg Mach and he was not stupid enough to fuel his little puppy-crush at that time with thoughts of this kind.

Nothing much had changed now. Although he wasn’t her student anymore, raunchy thoughts about the resistance leader and face of the church weren’t exactly appropriate either.

And yet, now that he was a grown man and she wasn’t his teacher anymore, he couldn't help but let his mind wander into dangerous territory. He was already in far too deep anyway.

The image of what she could look like, hair wetly curling around the pale skin of her neck, water droplets softly running down the expanse of her back and hot steam kissing her body above the clear water, would accompany him through his dreams for sure.

He sighed, face flushed red rather because of her than the warm water surrounding him. He really needed to get his thoughts straight. After all he hadn’t even asked her out yet, and still he was indulging in fantasies of her naked skin. It was awfully inappropriate and he was sure that he would toss and turn the whole night because of that image in his mind, although he must admit that he did kind of deserve this sweet kind of torture.

Maybe it was time to head to bed soon anyway, he didn’t think he could relax with the image of her sitting naked in the water like some sort of holy spirit or water nymph waiting to lure him in, gnawing at the back of his mind.

He could sit here and indulge a little longer, but he was too much of a gentleman to engage in something like this. It would be extremely indecent to do so and creepy as well and he definitely wasn’t that desperate yet.

Sighing, he slowly grabbed his towel, stepping out of the hot water to get changed again.

So much for relaxation. Now his thoughts were preoccupied with a whole new form of tenseness, though he still appreciated that more than the stress caused by these snobby noble men.

He had referred to this feeling as sweet torture before and it was just that, once he was back in his room, tossing and turning in his bed, watching the black ceiling intently as he prayed for sleep to finally take him over.

There was no use though, his mind was overflowing with images of her pale skin and those minty green eyes of hers. She really was a sight to look at and he could only hope to be worthy enough for her to let him touch her one day.

Tired from exhaustion and lost in thought he didn’t even realise that someone had knocked on his door, before the knocking occurred a second time, a little louder than before.

Confused as to who was knocking at his door at an hour like this, he made his way to the door. Maybe it was Judith coming over for some late night scheming, discussing recent developments and future strategies over a bottle of booze or something. Wouldn’t have been the first time, as time generally was scarce at the monastery and both of them didn’t sleep much to begin with anyway.

Maybe he should have known that it wasn’t Judith right away though, as fate had been having its fun with him for quite a while now. So he actually shouldn’t have been too surprised as he opened the door to reveal those green eyes that he had been dreaming of staring at him.

It could be destiny, he thought, as he was looking at her, standing there in her pale blue pullover, smiling at him sheepishly. She was waiting there right in front of his door as if his thoughts had somehow managed to summon her.

Although she was dressed now, her hair was still a little wet, the curly ends still sticking to the damp skin of her neck, and Claude momentarily had flash-backs to the images his mind had come up with in the bath house, so he quickly redirected his eyes towards her face again.

“Are you-” He wanted to ask, but she interrupted him before he had the chance to finish his question.

“Did I wake you?” She asked, looking at him a bit worried, eyes widening as if the thought had just occurred to her now.

“I-, no I was awake.” He answered honestly. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Why was it always coming down to his? Both of them meeting in the dead of the night, as two lost souls, plagued by insomnia.

“Oh, okay, I couldn't sleep either.” She confessed, scratching the side of her neck where her hair was still sticking to her skin. Again, it took all his will-power to not follow the movement with his eyes.

“Is there something keeping you up?” He asked instead, concentrating on her face to not let his mind wander. Something was occupying her mind obviously, so he considered it rather improper to think of anything other than that at the moment. Her well being was his first priority after all.

“No, not exactly, it’s just that...” She hesitated, taking a deep breath. “It’s just… We haven’t had the chance to really talk in awhile so I thought that we could, you know, have chat over some tea or something.” She said, giving him a small smile, looking a little nervous.

_So that’s why_, he thought as he was looking at her in mild surprise. He hadn’t expected that, really, but he was sure glad that she had shown up at his doorstep in the middle of the night, as he himself would have been far too coy to test his luck like this, especially since his mind had been filled with steamy thoughts of her.

She always was on step ahead of him anyway.

“Sure, come in.” He said, smiling at her as he made room for her to slip through his door. “I still owe you tea and dinner anyway.”

She smiled back at him at that, entering his room and sitting down at the chair in front of his desk. He would be lying if he didn’t say he had wished for her to sit on his bed instead.

“So, did you want to talk about anything in particular?” He asked, sitting down on his bed, opposite of her.

“Well, actually...” She began, hesitating once again. “I just wanted to spend some time with you, ask you what you have been up to.” She confessed, looking away. It did seem as if she was a bit flustered. He smiled at that thought. Maybe she had been just as desperate to talk to him as he had been to talk to her.

“After all, we didn’t really get the chance to chat since we reunited and I get the feeling that we get interrupted everytime before we can do so, so I wanted to change that, once and for all.”

She was looking up at him now, after she had finished, light blush adorning her cheeks.

It must have taken her quite some courage to come here and speak with him, he noticed. If she only knew how he had craved her presence before she had shown up at his doorstep, she certainly wouldn't have doubted herself for coming here.

“I’m glad you came.” He answered honestly, receiving a relieved smile from her at that. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you as well.” Claude confessed, a matching small blush now evident on his cheeks.

“Yeah?” She asked, pleasant surprise swinging in her tone. “About what?” She asked curiously, titling her had at him.

“Oh you know...” He started, leaning back on his hands casually and giving her an easy grin. “About how much I missed my favourite teach of course.” He finished, winking at her mischievously.

As nervous as he was, he at least had hoped to provoke a reaction out of her with that. She remained calm, though, looking at him for a moment before she began to speak again.

“I’m not your teacher anymore, though.” She responded, and he was little taken aback by the way her eyes were piercing right trough him as she said that.

Stunned by that answer, he just looked at her, waiting for her to say more. When she didn’t, he suddenly realized that she was waiting for him to say something as well.

He paused for a moment, thinking about what her behaviour could potentially mean, before he nodded his head slowly.

“Yes, you aren’t.” He confirmed and, as if saying it out loud had broken down any possbible boundary between them, she slowly stood up, sauntering towards him and settling down right by his side.

Byleth looked at him for a moment, before she softly took his hand in hers, looking up at him intently.

“We are equals now.” She whispered, as if it was a spell, meant for his ears to hear alone.

He gulped, slowly nodding at her, before he took a deep breath and looked at her, squeezing her hand in the process.

“We are.” He confirmed once more. “And when the time has come, and the era of a new dawn has arrived, I want to face the future, with you by my side. As equals, no, as _partners_.”

She looked at him in surprise for a moment, before a smile slowly started to form on her face. Then, she enveloped his hand with her other hand as well, leaning against him so that their sides were touching. She hummed at his words, her warmth seeping through his clothes and he allowed himself to bask in that feeling of closeness.

“I would like that very much.” She said after a moment, squeezing his hand again, as if saying it out loud in words would make it more real than a simple hum.

“I’m glad then.” Claude replied, leaning against her as well.

It was an extremely intimate position and although he hadn’t directly confessed his love for her, he was sure that she had gotten the message as she was gently rubbing circles into the back of his hand, tracing patterns with her fingers. His heart was strangely calm in that moment, despite the close proximity, and he was just happy that they were on the same page when it came to their feelings.

Although Claude had always been known for his sliver tongue, and had prided himself greatly with the fact the he was very eloquent, he wasn’t good at speaking about his feelings. That is why he was so glad that they were able to communicate without the use of many words, making actions speak for them instead.

He was tempted to steal this moment away for a little longer, so he almost asked her to spend the night, even though he knew that it wouldn't be proper, especially if someone would see her leave his chambers tomorrow morning. People would talk and that surely would bring along a lot of unpleasant conversations with the noblemen of their allied estates. They couldn't risk any scandals or doubts about their credibility now, even though their relationship shouldn’t be of concern for anyone but themselves.

As things were, their positions didn’t allow for such improper behaviour so he would just have to use every second he had with her. He would allow himself to be selfish for a little longer, even if he wouldn’t be able to spend the whole night with her.

Freeing his hands from her soft caresses, he put his arms around her, hugging her from behind and pulling her close to his chest.

“Stay a little longer?” He finally asked, as he put his chin on top of her head. He would draw this moment out for just a little longer, if she would let him.

Besides, it was an innocent proposal, really. He had just wanted to spend a bit more time with her before they had to separate ways again, even though the thoughts that had occupied his mind before she came had indicated something else.

As if reading his mind, she chuckled lightly, titling her head to look up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Am I being propositioned by a duke?” She asked, looking at him teasingly.

He laughed at that, surprised by her cheeky remark and drew back a little to get a better glimpse of her face.

“If you want to be propositioned.” He countered, winking at her and laughing as she couldn't hide the little blush that was creeping up her face.

She joined in on his laugh nonetheless, smiling at him afterwards, before her expression turned more serious again.

“Maybe some other time.” She sighed, sombre smile adorning her lips now as she slowly detached herself from him to get up.

“Still need to finish a lot of stuff until tomorrow.” She added, extending her hand to help him to get up as well. “And you know, besides that, we both have too many responsibilities to just indulge in that.”

“Unfortunately.” He agreed, winning a smile from her at that.

“But you can come by tomorrow to have some tea with me.” She proposed, looking at him again as she was still holding his hand. “For real this time, though.” She laughed, as she realized that none of them had even managed to boil any water for the tea they had wanted to drink together.

He smiled at her, finally standing up and heading for the door with her hand in his.

“I would really like that.” He said, leaning against his door frame as he was taking in how the street lamps softly illuminated her face.

“Should I escort you back to your room?” He asked, playing with the fingers of her hand.

“No it’s fine, thank you.” She replied, smiling at him gently.

“All right, have a good night then.” He said, leaning forward to kiss her cheek softly.

“Get back to your chambers safely.” He whispered, hot breath ghosting over her ear and the column of her neck.

“I’ll manage.” She answered, leaning back to smile at him, before she gave him a kiss on the cheek as well.

“Sleep well, Duke von Riegan.” She finally said, giving him one last smile before she headed back to her room.

As soon as she was out of sight, he closed the door behind him, leaning back against it, exhaling deeply as a strong wave of bliss was suddenly hitting him.

He was was happy.

He hadn’t felt this alive in ages and he really couldn't wait for the war to end so that he could finally be with her.

Willing to work hard, he would get to his goal eventually.

Right now, however, he really needed to get some sleep, and even if times were grim right now, he couldn't wait for a brighter future with her by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the pining you had to endure, even though it still didn't result in a kiss yet. I already had an idea about where they are first going to kiss and I didn't really want to change that for the sake of this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it anyway!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually just wanted to say that I have no idea what I'm doing and that I just randomly write whatever comes to my mind :D That being said, I really appreciate all of your support and I didn't actually expect such great response to my story.
> 
> I still sometimes feel kind of sloppy though because, like I said before, English isn't my first language, and the longer I write the more I get the feeling that I'm absolutely messing up my English. I kind of sometimes feel like Petra, struggling for words, messing up proverbs, or using the wrong vocabulary. I'm so unsure about some words, especially words I only ever learned out of context, so if there are any major mistakes or inconsistency please feel free to tell me so I can improve myself! Sorry for the long text and thanks again for reading my story! :)

Things were progressing slowly but steadily and yet they were faced with new unforeseeable obstacles every day. Although they had managed to conquer the invulnerable fortress, which per se was a huge success on their side, the fortress was utterly destroyed as soon as they had won.

Bright javelins of light had fallen from the sky, demolishing the fortress within seconds and forcing them to retreat as fast as they could.

None of them was hurt, fortunately, and yet the destruction of the fortress was and immense loss for them. Although it did bring them closer to their goal of defeating Edelgard, it also raised a bunch of new questions about who and what they were facing.

No one really knew where these javelins of light had been coming from. They didn’t know who had fired them, what kind of magic they consisted of and, mostly importantly, why their enemies had waited for them to come to the fortress to attack them.

Maybe their magic was bound to a certain range or place. Maybe they needed a special source of magic to use it. Maybe it was all part of a greater scheme or plan, or maybe their foe had just wanted to show off their power to drive them further away again.

Whatever the reason was, they couldn't be sure. The enemy might even go as far as to attack them again, here at the monastery. Who knew what these people were capable of? For all they knew they, could just come and wipe them all out in their sleep.

It was extremely unsettling.

Thoughts like that were most likely the reason why Claude had found and utterly frustrated Byleth sitting in the library in the dead of the night, all sorts of books scattered around her, raking her fingers through her hair while messily scribbling down notes on a piece of paper.

It had been a few weeks since the night that they had confessed to each other and a lot of things had happened since then, so they hadn’t really been able to deepen their relationship, not that it would have been the right time anyway. It never was. At least not in war.

Although conquering the great bridge had been a great success they were faced with the loss of Dimitri and some of their old comrades on the same field they had once used for mock battles and training. How ironic, really.

It had left a bitter taste in their mouths, painfully reminding them that friends had turned to enemies over the cause of a pointless war. Claude had tried to persuade them, talking some sense into them before they lost their lives over something like that and yet none of them had relented.

To die for a cause. It was noble, and yet so very foolish as it could have been avoided by fighting with words instead of weapons. And still…

Maybe that was exactly what was needed to make a change. Desperate times called for desperate measures after all. If he wanted to secure peace and unity for the future of the world, he needed to fight for his cause, even if it meant to bid his old comrades farewell.

Considering this, it really wasn’t the time for a budding romance. They felt constantly at the edge, only holding it together for the sake of a brighter future, afraid and traumatized.

It really was a cruel world.

And yet, seeing Byleth sitting there, racking her brain to find a solution to defeat an unknown enemy to secure the peace in Fòdlan, he couldn't help but feel hopeful for a better future.

He took a moment to watch her form afar, as she sat there, hunched over her stack of books. Claude knew that Byleth was strong and lethal. Although she was relatively tiny, her muscles were strong and her pale skin was marred with scars, a token of all the battles she had won. Her eyes were focused, concentrated on what she was reading, as she furrowed her eyebrows in frustration.

Byleth seemed so lost in that book, as she was delving deeply into the material, furling her eyebrows even more, while she was quietly reading a paragraph to herself. She looked so tense, stressed from all the reasonabilities that were weighing her down as the leader of their resistance, that he couldn't help but worry about her.

Claude really wanted to go up to her and wipe that frown right off her face.

He wanted her to be happy. He wanted to hug her, touch her, to tell her everything was going to be fine and distract her from her struggles. Even if it just was for a moment.

So without wasting any more thoughts he revealed himself, slowly sauntering over to her.

“Still up and working?” He asked, giving her a small smile as her head shot up in surprise. Upon seeing who was standing in front of her, she reciprocated the smile, although it did seem tired and strained and maybe even a little bit forced.

“Oh, hey.” She just said, dropping her pen and leaning back in her chair to look at him properly. “I wouldn’t call it working.” She answered, looking down at her books before she began to speak again.

“I’m just doing a little research, you know. On the hooded mages Lysithea was talking about and those javelins of light, shooting across the sky. I just can’t help but think that maybe there is a connection...” She said, trailing off as she was skimming one of the pages with her eyes again.

“Ah, scheming and planning, I see.” He said, looking at her books as well. “Seems like you are slowly taking after me.” He jokingly added, earning an honest smile from her at that.

“I’ve learned from the best after all.” She countered, giving him a cheeky grin.

“Indeed, you have.” He grinned back, casually sauntering closer towards her, taking a chair in the process to sit right in front of her. As soon as he sat, she moved to face him, their knees almost touching, only separated by the small distance between them.

She was looking at him intently, curious for what was about to come, as he took one of her hands in his own.

“I think you should rest a bit.” He gently said, voice not louder than a whisper. The sudden change of mood seemed to surprise her, slowly making he blush at his earnest concern.

“I-” She tried, pausing again to aver her eyes, looking at their joined hands instead.

“I can’t.” She finally said, giving him a sad smile as she was looking at him again.

“There is just so much we don’t now yet. About the masked mages, about those javelins of light, about Flayn and Lysithea and their blood, about-” She was about to continue before he suddenly interrupted her, tone serious but loving nonetheless.

“Yes, and you have to face none of these questions on your own.” He said, softly caressing her hand as he gave her meaningful look.

“You are always giving it your best, fighting, planing, scheming, guiding us towards a brighter future.” He said, looking at her intently as he tried to get his words across.

“You are remarkable and the strongest person I know, in and out of the battlefield, but you don't need to change the world all by yourself. You have me and I'm right by you side, through every obstacle. You know you can rely on me.” He assured her, raising his other hand to her cheek to trace soft patterns with his hand there.

“Trust me, I’m here with you. Rely on me, please.” He whispered as he moved forward, pressing his forehead against hers.

She looked at him for a moment, deeply gazing into his deep, green eyes, before she closed her own, sighing loudly.

“I know, I just-” She hesitated again, sighing once more as she tried to sort out her thoughts. She was quiet for a moment, bathing in his soft caresses, before she took his hand on her cheek, enveloping it with her own hands, as she leaned back to look at him again.

“I’m just so stressed and so… so-” She gupled, shutting her eyes tightly for a moment to get the word across her lips.

“_Afraid_.” She finally finished, looking at him with prominent worry in her eyes. Byleth wasn’t a person to openly admit to the things that were occupying her mind, much less one to be overly emotional, so it must have taken her a great deal to confess that to him.

She clasped his hand tightly in hers, holding on to him fiercely as if he was to vanish once she would let go of him. _How ironic_, he thought, as he was thinking back to all the times he had just wanted to clutch her tightly to keep her from disappearing from him ever again.

“I’m so afraid that this war will end in chaos. That we will all die on the battlefield and that there might be just nothing I can do about that.” She admitted, voice laced with so much emotion that it was quivering.

“I don’t want to lose _you…_ I don’t want to lose _any of you_, Claude.” She whimpered, eyes turning a little glassy a the mere thought.

“I need to do everything I can to protect you, to make sure that you are all save. I can’t allow myself to make any mistake.” She finally concluded, resolve fiery burning in her eyes.

Claude looked at her for a moment, eyes flitting over her face, before he began to speak again.

“I can’t promise you that you won’t make any mistakes.” He finally said, resuming to trace patterns with his hand again.

“And I can’t promise you that everything will go according to plan, even if we put our all into it.” He admitted, looking at her intently.

“But what I can promise you, is that I will be by your side through all of it. No matter the outcome, I’ll be there. Standing right next to you and hopefully facing our new dawn together. For that dream, I would to whatever it takes. I won’t die, I promise.”

“How can you promise something like that?” She asked, averting her eyes.

“Oh come on, teach, it certainly takes more to kill me than some fancy magic light. I’m tougher than I look, you won’t get rid off me that easily.” He joked, teasing her with her old nickname and winking at her in process. Honestly, he just was trying to lighten up the mood again, intending to make her smile and to ease in own uneasiness.

Truthfully, he couldn't promise her to survive, he was aware of that himself. But he sure as hell was not going to kick the bucket and leave if he could help it.

She sighed at him, giving him a tried smile at his efforts to cheer her up.

“If it only was that easy.” She mumbled, as she leaned forward against his forehead again.

“Just… don’t die on me, Claude von Riegan.” She whispered, looking deeply into his eyes. They were so close by now that he could feel her warm breath ghosting over his face as he was talking.

“I won’t, I promise.” He whispered back, leaning in even closer, so that their lips were almost brushing.

  
For a moment, Byleth just remained absolutely still, gazing into his eyes, with a mixture of fear and eagerness, but yet she didn't move. They just looked at each other for another few seconds, before Byleth's gaze flitted, ever so slightly, down to his lips, and back up to his eyes again. That was all he needed to finally lean in all the way and press a soft, yet firm kiss to her lips.

She reciprocated instantly, griping his collar with both hands to pull him even closer. Surprised at the sudden action, Claude lost his balance a little, toppling forward and gripping her thighs to support himself.

His heart was beating in his chest at the passionate way she was kissing him, years and years of yearning and waiting on both sides finally coming to an end, here, in a dark corner of the library, as the smell of old books and dried ink was tickling there noses.

  
How many nights he had spent in the libarary, reading, learning, scheming.

He could never have imagined to kiss his former professor here, soft and pliant and so, _so_ eager under his hands, though he did dream about it a lot when he was younger. Claude just never would have thought that he ever stood a chance then.

  
Yet, here he was, pulling here closer by her face as his thumbs drew soft caresses into the skin on her jaw, opening his mouth to deepen the kiss.

  
She obliged easily, her hands pressing into his thighs now, as she supported herself on them to not fall over. The feeling left a burning mark on his skin, even though she did not even intend to tease him with her touch like that.

His self-control was slowly slipping and it only got worse when she began to softly press her fingers deeper into his thighs, moving her thumbs back and forth in a circular motion. He gasped at that, heartbeat hammering in his ears as excitement and desire began rushing through his veins.

Claude desperately needed her closer, he realized. He moved his hand from her jaw to her hips to pull her to him so that she was straddling him.

Byleth gasped at that in return, surprised by the sudden boldness, but before she even got to question what he was doing, he had captured her lips again, his hand digging into her hips, keeping her in place.

There were a million reasons why they shouldn’t be doing this, for example that they might get caught like this, devouring each other in public in the middle of the night, but Claude couldn't care less at the moment.

Should they talk and watch, should they gossip and judge for all he cared. He loved that woman more than anything and nothing was going to keep him from her anymore. To hell with appearances.

Byleth didn’t seem to be on the same page with him though, slowly pulling away from him as he was following her lips like a lost puppy. She chuckled a little at his eagerness as he dove in again, capturing her lips once more.

“Claude, hey, wait... stop, Claude.” She mumbled against his lips, softly pushing him away with her hand.

That seemed to do the trick, so he reluctantly pulled away, looking at her in confusion as a light pout was adorning his lip.

“Why did we stop?” He mumbled, drawing her in closer once more, only to be pushed away with a chuckle again.

  
“Do you really think it's proper for the future king to be making out in public?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I don't care about what is proper right now, i just want to kiss you.” He admitted, eyes hooded and swimming with desire.

  
She gave a short laugh at that, amused by his boldness, as she put her hand on his cheek, lips curling into a half-sided grin.

  
  
“My, laying out your schemes right in front of me, that's quite unusual.” She teased, giving him a sly smirk. He knew that she was trying to dissolve the heavy tension between them, but he just wanted to indulge in her a little longer.

  
  
“If it gets you to kiss me again I would gladly lay open all of my schemes right in front of you.” He whispered.

“Maybe I’ll take you up on that.” She whispered back and, for a moment, he thought he got her, until she suddenly stood up again, forcing a little more distance between them.

“Another time though.” She finally said, leaning against the side of the table to look at him again. “I don’t think it would be wise for us to continue what we have been doing, especially out here in public.” She declared as she was watching him intently. It was obvious that she was trying to keep up a strong front, though the way here chest was still raising rapidly up and down, accompanied by her hooded eyes, told a different story.

Since here close proximity was not clouding his mind anymore, he took a moment to really think about the situation. He knew she was right, but he hadn’t wanted to admit defeat so easily.

Yet, he sat there, looking back at her determined face as a loud sigh left his lips.

“You’re right.” He finally concluded, slumping in his chair as he was crossing his arms behind his back.

“Sorry, I just couldn't resist you.” He teased, making a light blush bloom on her cheeks, which was ridiculous considering what they just had been doing.

Admitting his defeat, he slowly stood up and stopped right in front of her, so close that their chests were almost touching. Byleth looked at him warily, suspicious that he might start something again, but he just leaned over, closing the book that was still lying open on the desk behind her back.

“I think it is time for you to go to sleep, though.” He whispered in her ear, leaning back to give her one last lingering look. She just looked back, cautious of what he might do next, as the blush on her face was becoming a bit more prominent.

“Sleep tight, Byleth.” He whispered, leaning forward again to give her one last kiss, before he moved away entirely.

“Sweet dreams, my dear.” He said, as he turned around to wink at her once more, before he finally left the library, leaving her there to wonder how he had regained his composure so quickly again.

Flustered and a little relieved, she bid him goodnight as well, calling after him to sleep well before he was out of her sight. He really loved hat coy side of her, especially since it was only reserved for him.

Making his way through the corridor, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

He initially had hoped that it was Byleth, who had changed her mind about making out in public places, but the footsteps were far too light to belong her. Turning around to see who it was, he came to face with Lysithea, mustering him suspiciously as he greeted.

“Well, if it isn’t Lysithea. Still up at an hour like this? Aren’t you afraid of the ghosts lurking around.” He teased, just to distract her from any questions about his late night stroll.

“Kissing in dark corners is not very noble like.” She just said, hitting him right in the gut with her words. So much for that.

_So she saw_… He concluded, trying to regain his composure as fast as he had lost it.  
  
  
“Are you one to tell though? Being infatuated with our dear former professor is hardly a reason to get me into trouble, is it?” He asked cockily, trying to cover up his own nervousness.  
  
  
“No it isn’t. I'm just making sure that you know what you are doing and that there are no ill intentions behind that.” She answered, fixing him with a stern look.  
  
  
“Why should there be?” He asked, confused as to what she was implying.

“I like her and she likes me. The feeling is mutual.” He said resolutely, getting a bit defensive about it. Who was she to judge his feelings?

  
“While that might be true, you do influence her a lot, Claude.” Lysithea countered, still mustering him intently, as if she could gauge his honesty through that.

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked, holding her gaze just as sternly.

  
  
“You make her do a lot of things she wasn't initially comfortable with. Not only on the battlefield but in private as well.” Lysitha just said.

“I still don’t understand what you are getting at.” He just answered.

He was slowly growing more and more irritated about their little chat. What did she want from him?

  
“Look, I know you depend on her lot, she's the leader of our rebellion after all.” She explained, a little less harsh now. “People form all over the country are eating out of the palm of her hand, especially now that she is the successor of lady Rhea and the face of the church.”

  
“Well, yeah, of course she's an important figure in the war.” He admitted, slight irritation still laced in his voice.

  
“I don't get your point though. What has that got to do with my relationship with her?” He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

  
Lysithea sighed, averting her eyes for a moment before she spoke again.

“I know she used to be a very closed off person. All of us know in fact. She was so stiff, one might even say emotionless, and yet you somehow managed to make her walls cave it.” She explained, fiddling with the sleeve of her clothes. He knew that Lysithea usually wasn’t good with feelings or showing concern, so it didn’t escape his eyes how nervous she seemed to be, even though she was putting up a though act. She sincerely seemed to be worried about Byleth, he realized.

  
“Why is that a bad thing though?” He finally asked after watching her a moment.

  
“It isn't.” She admitted easily, looking up at him again. “But it shows how much she let her guard down because of you.”  
  
  
“Yeah so what? That's what people do when they deeply care for the other. They trust each other.” He said, still unsure about what she was getting at.

  
“Yes, and that’s the point. I'm afraid that you are just using her trust for one of your schemes. You are known as the master tactician after all, so that's really not that far off.” She finally admitted, looking at him pointedly.

  
He was speechless. Did she really think so poorly of him?  
  
  
“Especially considering how many women you used to flirt with, even back at the academy, just for your advantage.” She continued, letting her thoughts flow freely now that the dam was broken.

  
While that was true, he still had never been one to play games in favour of his own likes, like Sylvain or even Lorenz sometimes had. He had flirted with those women, lightly, to get on their good side, but he had never hurt or used anyone.

  
“Look, whatever you did with them is in the past, I know, and maybe you have redeemed yourself since that, but I remember that, in the beginning of our journey with the professor, you took great interest in the sword of the creator.” She accused, voice growing a little colder at that.

  
“The sword she conveniently wields.”

  
_Ah_, he thought, _she was really quite observant_. Yet, she had only noticed his ulterior motives when it came to the sword of the creator, but was still blind to the true nature of his feelings. He didn’t know what to reply to that. While it was true that he initially wanted to use her, his feelings for her had grown quite early on. He was not one to show though, not under these circumstances at least, so maybe Lysithea’s concerns were valid from her point of view.

  
His hesitation only seemed to fuel her suspicions, so after a moment she began to speak again, spitting venom at him as fiercely as she could.

  
“If you're only using her Claude, so the goddess might help you before I-”

  
“It's none of that, I do really like her and I intend to marry her once this war is over.” He interrupted her, silencing her instantly.

  
She was stunned for a moment gaping at him in shock and, although he had never admitted that to anyone out loud before, it was quite true.

  
“I love her.” He continued. It was simple as that and yet powerful enough to keep the small woman quiet for a moment longer.

  
Lysithea looked at him wide-eyed. That seemed to have knocked the wind out of her for a while, so it was his chance to speak again.

  
“I really do I like her a lot and although her power is of great value for me as well, that's not what I am after. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and if it wasn't for the sake of my country, I would gladly drop any title to just be with her, peacefully having our happily ever after.” He admitted, fixing her with his own stare in return.

  
“As it is however, the world need us, especially her, as the capable leader of the new world. And while I would gladly relieve her of that burden, she is the only one who can do it. The two of us have to play our roles in this war in order to secure peace and to get that happy ending we have always wished for.” He continued, balling his fist so tightly that his fingernails were leaving marks on his skin.

  
“It won't do any good to just run away, and while that sounds pretty narcissistic, the world needs us to become a better place, that's just how it is.” He declared. “I do really love her,” he admitted again, “and I want to lead this new world with her by my side.”

It was true, there was nothing he wished for more in life than that.  
  
  
After his monologue, Lysithea was quiet for quite some time.

  
She seemed to let his words sink in, processing what he had just revealed to her. After a while she just sighed, looking at him sceptically, but still with a lot less distrust than she had before.

  
“Fine.” She finally said, fixing him with another one of her stern looks. I just don't want her wrapped around your fingers if you have ill intentions, that's all.” She confessed.

  
“And I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I'll hunt you down, should you ever dare to hurt her.” She spat, although there wasn’t as much bite to it as there was before. She did seem to trust his words more after his honest confession, after all.

  
“Yeah, thanks. I think I’m aware of that by now.” He huffed, slowly growing tried of the conversation. Though he did find it rather cute how everyone was worried about Byleth, he felt a little attacked by the missing trust concerning his feelings.

  
“Good.” Lysithea just answered at that. She finally seemed to be satisfied with that. He was really glad that he had been finally able to convince her. After all, it was kind of important to him that his house approved of their relationship.

  
“Claude?” Lysithea asked after a moment again.

  
“Yeah?” He answered a little warily. Was he still not able to convince her after all, he wondered.

He must admit that he was quite surprised when her next words were softer and far more gentle than anything she had thrown at him before.

  
“Please make her happy.” She just said, a pleading look gracing her face.

He was stunned for a little moment, before he nodded his head in determination.

“I will, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tension is getting thicker! Hope you enjoyed the kiss after all the pining :D I don't think I will update the next few days because I'm pretty busy at the moment, but there will be a few more chapters to this I think. I do have to go on hiatus at the end of next week though because I'll be out of the country for a whole month, enjoying my holidays :)

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this will be 4-5 one shots about Claude/Byleth moments, chronologically taking place throughout the story. Maybe there will even be smut in the last chapter, but I haven't decided yet :D


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